ABOUT VICKI
Vicki Wilson is a versatile and accomplished show jumping rider located in New Zealand. She has always had a passion for riding, starting her career by training the family sheep at just age 2. Successfully competing up to World Cup level (1.60m), Vicki has previously represented New Zealand in Europe competing up to 1.40m and was part of the three-time champion Trans-Tasman Young Rider team. She won her first national title at 17 years old, and has since made history at the Horse of the Year show in New Zealand, winning the Lowry Medallion five times and the Nationwide Cup nine times – more than any other rider. Outside the show jumping arena, Vicki was named the 2017 and 2018 World Champion at Road to the Horse, an annual colt-starting competition held in Kentucky, USA.
Vicki has started many other young/wild horses in her time, including wild Kaimanawa horses in New Zealand, Brumbies in Australia and Mustangs in the United States. For a number of years, she has impressed crowds in the Southern Hemisphere through bareback and bridleless demonstrations and jumping displays, including jumping a car, a 1.82m wall bareback, and even another horse.
Currently living in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, Vicki has a well established breeding program where she has bred, started and trained horses to World Cup level. She believes in the importance of a quality education for every horse, ensuring their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing to ensure that they have the opportunity to be successful at whatever they do. Her approach focuses on the idea that we have a responsibility as trainers and owners to give our horses a well-rounded and stimulating life, treating them like the athlete they are.
Vicki has a holistic view on how she educates her horses, with an emphasis on producing happy horses who genuinely love their work. Over the years, Vicki has developed a reputation for successfully rehabilitating sore and difficult horses, with the view that horses generally only show negative behaviour as a reaction to pain or fear. She aims to foster confidence and trust, working to find solutions rather than punishing the symptoms. Vicki educates the public through Sore Horse Workshops held internationally to bring awareness to how a horse in pain may present, and how to fix these issues. She has treated countless horses with her unique hands-on equine therapy methodology, leaving them able to work pain free.